She Don't Know She's Beautiful
by gosalyngirl
Summary: A good father-daughter fanfic. Gosalyn has a horrible breakup with a boy. Rated PG-13 for slight language use. Please read!


She Don't Know She's Beautiful  
By: Lesley Hall 

  


_**Disclaimer** of course you know that Darkwing Duck, Gosalyn Mallard, Launchpad McQuack and everything else is copyright Disney and used without permission but of course not for money. Saundra is a character I created that appears in several of my fanfics but really has no relevance in this particular one. Drake's adept guitar playing skills are used in this fic, and if you think I'm crazy for writing this, remember the ep 'Paraducks'? You also may think that Darkwing has no singing ability, but you must remember 'Darkly Dawns The Duck' and also 'Paraducks'.... Me thinks there's a little more about Dw that a lot of people know!**_

Gosalyn threw her bag angrily on the floor as she slammed the door with vehement rage. Drake was sitting on the couch with Saundra, talking of something and laughing as they conversed. Drake looked up as Gosalyn came in.   
"Hey, Kiddo." His manner was light and jovial. Gosalyn's face was flustered as she gazed in their direction. "I hate men!!" she screamed incisively as her face grew ardently hot.  
"That's it, honey. Show those high school punks who's boss." Drake rose his fist in the air and Saundra laughed. Not seeing the humor in any of this, Gosalyn growled and started to her room. Launchpad stepped into view from the kitchen then, and said "Hey Gos! How as the first day of senior year?"  
Gosalyn deterred from asnwering as she looked back. "If anything with a penis so much as comes within ten feet of my room there'll be consequences and reprocussions!" her voice was livid and her countenance seemed ruddier than river clay as she bounded into her room and slammed the door. Partially amused at the diagnostic analysis of the situation depicting squarely upon a boy, Drake said "I wonder what that was all about?"  
"Man Trouble." Saundra stated as she slid an arm around his now thin and toned bod. "You men seem to have a way about you-"  
"To be impeccibly charming?" Drake smiled at her.  
"Nooo, to piss us off to the point of no return." she smiled back. Drake gazed up at the stairs. "Maybe I should go have a daddy-daughter chat."  
"I don't know Dw, Gos has a tendency to act on her words." Launchpad amended, sipping on a Koo Koo Cola.  
"Yeah, I really don't want to go to the hospitial tonight." Drake mused as he ran his fingers through the feathers atop his head.  
"Well, I'd go talk to her, but I doubt I'll get very far, as angry as she is." Saundra shrugged.  
"Yeah, well she'll cool down here in a little while," Drake went into the ktichen and took a bottle of water from the refrigerator. "Or that jerk boyfriend of hers will come by wanting to make up and I can try out that new bone-crushing split kick I've been working on."  


*******************************************  


Nightfall found it's way to St. Canard as the air grew cooler and the breeze blew gently through the trees. Drake reached home around nightfall, exhausted from a ten mile run he'd just trekked. In the past months he'd changed his diet and began to work out more, which included more martial arts as well as hard runs and weights. He had no bulk, but he became toned, lean, and had aquired a nicer six pack than most professional athletes. The results were evident that his athletic abilities could enable him to easily thrawt even the most malevolent miscreants.  
Walking into his home and struggling to peel the wet mass of shirt off of his back, Drake took a seat on the stairs to catch his breath.  
"Hey Dw! How many miles was it today?"  
"Ten. Six minute miles." he informed his trusty sidekick. Launchpad whistled in admiration. "Whew..way to get in shape! I couldn't do that if I tried."   
"Well you could come along next time, it never hurts to be in shape, especially in the line of work we're in." Drake amended, sweat pouring down his face. Launchpad smiled and shook his head. "Aww, no thanks Dw. The only muscle I'm really interested in working is my table muscle." he rubbed his stomach lovingly. "It's my favorite one, heh heh."  
Drake smiled and shook his head. "Suit yourself."  
"Oh, I almost forgot, Playduck called. They want you for the cover of their next 'female' magazine. Said one of their scouts saw you working out in the gym and believed your good for their next issue." Launchpad scratched his head and looked at him thoughtfully.  
"Again?! This is the fifth time this week they've called!" Drake stood up and stretched his aching muscles. Silence went by for a moment.   
"Are you going to-"  
"Of course not! What kind of father figure would I be? Those rapacious reprobates. Just the thought of posing for something like that. I wouldn't think Saundra would care too much for that either, if you know what I mean." Drake shuddered at the thought as he began walking upstairs.  
"Well, the women seem to like the magazines." Launchpad commented. "The news said it was a better seller than women's home diary."  
" _Everyone_ likes those stupid things. I've been reading the Playboys since I was ten." he stopped short when he realized what he'd said. "Err, not to say I still get them...I mean...I don't still look at them....well, you know, if you're in the store you tend to pick one up and flip through it..." when he realized he was doing nothing more productive than embarassing himself further, he cleared his throat and abruptly changed the subject. "Anyway, is Gos still in her room?"  
Launchpad shook his head. "Naw, went out, I think."  
"Is she walking? Her car's out there."  
Launchpad nodded. His face tight with worry, Drake ran up the stairs for a quick shower. Once he was dressed in a pair of loose blue jeans and a gray tee shirt, he jumped into the spinning chairs and soon found himself in the dark, eerily shadowed tower.  
He walked stealthilly through the dark, and at once was stopped by the sound of sniffeling. Scaling the ladder and climbing out of a window, he was flooded with relief to see Gosalyn perched on the ledge, her legs dangling lifelessly over the edge as she gazed out over the expanding ocean.  
"Nice night, huh?" Drake's words cut through the silence like a hot knife through butter as Gosalyn jumped, startled, and looked at him defensively. He held his hands up in a benevolent act. "I come in peace." he made a peace sign and for a moment he looked like a skinny teenager off of 'That 70's Show.' Gosalyn laughed at him and nodded. "Your cool, pop."  
When it became a revelation to him that none of his favorite body parts were in immediate peril, he took a seat beside her on the ledge. They both gazed out over the illimitable ocean with the full moon reflecting it's incandescent glow over the water, the noises of the busteling metropolis seeming so diminutive and distant.   
"Yeah." Gosalyn replied, breaking the comfortable silence.  
"Yeah, what?"  
"It's a nice night. Really cool here."  
Drake acknowledged her comment as he wrapped an arm around her. "Very nice. This is a good place to come and think. I come here a lot when something's bothering me." he insinuated a response minipulatively as she leaned in to him. "Well, join the club. That's why I'm here."  
There was a moment of silence before Drake responded.  
"Do you want to talk about it?"  
She nodded. "Yeah, it's boy problems, though."  
"So?"  
"Your not good with boy problems."  
Drake smiled at her humorously. "Well, it's kind of hard for dads, considering we only date women. I guess we never reflect on what we do." he leaned back on his palms. "Go on, I'll do my best."  
Gosalyn looked dubious.  
"Try me."  
"You won't overreact?"  
He smiled. "Do I ever?"  
"Do you really want me to answer that?"  
He shook his head. "No. Go on."  
"Well," she leaned forward and gazed down at the water below. "Mark and I were...you know, getting serious-"  
"Serious? How serious? Define serious." Drake prodded, the in the concerned and belligerent fatherly tone Gosalyn knew all too well.  
"Dad! Let me finish!"  
Drake nodded, consenting.  
"Anyway," she grumbled. "And he dumped me today. I mean, it wasn't so much the breakup, but he went and told all of his friends how ugly he thinks I am." her eyes welted up in tears. "Do you think I'm ugly?"  
Anger flashed into Drake's eyes and his first instinct was to go and grind that Mark guy into a pulp. Yet he tended to the more important matter at hand and took a deep breath to calm himself. Taking his daughter into his arms, he held her tight and rocked her gently. The anger that had expelled from her earlier was only masking the pain and grief she felt. "Aww, honey." he cooed as she pressed her head on his chest. "No baby, your the most gorgeous girl ever."  
"Aww, dad." she sniffed. "Stop lying. Your just saying that."  
"No, I'm not." Drake retorted as he sat his seventeen year old daugther in his lap. They were about the same height yet she fell just a hair shorter than him. Resting her head on his shoulder, he told her. "You are beautiful. I would _never EVER _ lie to you about something like that."  
Gosalyn lifted her head and looked into her father's eyes. "You promise?"  
"I swear."  
She smiled and layed her head oncemore on his shoulder.  
"Don't ever think that because some chump calls you something, then you are. Diatribe like that is nothing more than cheap piffle. Like the price of eggs in China."  
Gosalyn looked at him humorously. "Price of eggs in China?"  
"Yeah. Not worth the wear and tear on a chicken's butt."  
Gosalyn laughed. "Dad, that was so crude."  
He laughed and ran his fingers over the top of his head. "That was rather flippant of me."  
Gosalyn sighed amiably. "You always have a way of making me feel better."  
Drake kissed her lovingly on the forehead. Another moment of silence allowed time for an ingenious idea to formulate. Drake's blue eyes came to life. "Hey, and I've got something even better."  
She slid off of his lap and watched him depart. He reappeared a moment later, a worn acoustic guitar in his hand.  
"Woah, where'd you get that?" Gosalyn asked as he took his seat beside her.  
"Bought this when I was a teenager. It's a replica of the one used in CCR's band."  
Gosalyn looked imploringly. "CCR?"  
"Yeah, CCR! Creedence Clearwater Revival."  
"Who?"  
Drake smiled. "You don't know...." he sighed, surrendering any chance of explaining. "Ah, the viscissitudes of the generations."  
"How long have you had it?"   
"Well, I'm thirty-two, so I suppose I've had this oh, about seventeen years."  
Gosalyn was astonished. "You've been playing the guitar that long?"  
Her father nodded, his eyes sparkling.  
"I never knew you could play the guitar."   
"Gos, hon there's a lot about me even you don't know. And you know more about me than anyone." he took the guitar and situated it expertly in his hands. "Now, I'm not one to particularly enjoy country music-" he said as he strummed the chords. "But I felt compelled to learn this song when I heard it on the radio."  
He began playing the guitar with rhythmic talent and Gosalyn realized then what song he was referring to when he began to sing:  
_"We go out to a party somewhere, the moment we walk through the door.  
People stop and everybody stares. She don't know what they're starin' for.  
She don't know she's beautiful-never crossed her mind-she don't know she's beautiful-no she's not that type-she dont know she's beautiful-though time and time I've told her so."_   


Gosalyn was amazed at how good and original her father sounded. She always kenw he had a good voice, yet she was completly in the dark on his guitar skills.  


_" There she goes just walkin' down the street, and someone lets a whistle out-a girl like her, she just can't see what the fuss is all about......She don't know she's beautiful-never crossed her mind-she don't know she's beautiful-no she's not that type-she don't know she's beautiful....though time and time I've told her so.  
Mornin' comes and her hair's all a mess, that's when she thinks she looks the worst. It's times like this she don't know why..I can't take my eyes off her.  
Cuz she don't know she's beautiful..never crossed her mind...she don't know she's beautiful..no she's not that type..she don't know she's beautiful...though time and time I've told her so."_  
Drake let the sound roll into a melifluous stop as he smiled and asked. "So?"  
"Don't quit your day job."  
Drake smiled. Gosalyn shook her head. "Dad, I'm amazed. I didn't realize how good you were at singing and playing."  
He gave an arrogant sigh. "Yea yea yea...I _do_ have a tendency to amaze people." his haughtiness got the best of him as he put an arm around her.  
"Am I as beautiful as the song describes?" Gosalyn asked her father seriously. Drake shook his head.  
"No. Your much more beautiful than what the song describes."  
Gosalyn smiled. "Thanks, dad." she kissed her father on the cheek.  
"Anytime. What are father's for?"  
A few minutes of silence were given to the picturesque sea before Drake asked with a tone that made it vague whether he was serious or not. "Can I off him? We'll bury the body. I doubt anyone will miss him."  
Gosalyn looked at him, shocked and smiling. "No! What happened to being the city's protector?"  
"When my little girl's involved, there's always an exception to the rules."  
She smiled, finally confident of herself. "I'm so glad I've got a father like you."  
He looked at her. "It's not half as nice as having a daughter like you."he replied, and hugged her lovingly.  
"How about breaking his legs? Breaking his legs isn't a crime...I'm going to go break his legs." Drake started to get up, with every intent on doing harm to the cretinous creep, but Gosalyn grabbed his arm. "No dad! You can't be that drastic!"  
"You think that was drastic? I was contemplating running him over with my car."  
Gosalyn jumped to her feet and took her father in a hug. "I don't like seeing my baby girl hurt. It hurts me, and I hate being hurt. It puts me in destructive mode."  
Gosalyn nuzzled into his warm embrace. This is where she always felt safe; in the arms of her hero. "As long as I've got you, dad, I'm never hurt."  
He kept his arm around his daughter securely, as the gentle wind carried the memories off across the moonlit sky.  


_I see the moon and the moon sees me  
Down through the leaves of the old oak tree  
Please let the light that shines on me  
Shine on the one I love.  
Over the mountains, over the sea  
Right where my heart is longing to be  
Please let the light that shines on me  
Shine on the one I love.  
_

Everything is copywrighted as explained in the above caption. "She don't know she's beautiful" is sung by Sammy Kershaw and, of course used for entertainment only. CCR and That 70's Show are also just used for fun. The last segment is a song that my mom used to sing me when I was little that I have always wanted to put in a fanfic and found this particular one to be the best. I have no idea who sings it or what the name is, but I will always remember it. Playboy magazine is of course not my idea, and I doubt that I'm the first to have used Playduck.  



End file.
